Olympics

Rio Olympics operating budget rises by 27 percent

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) The operating budget for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 was announced at 7 billion reals ($2.9 billion) by organizers on Thursday, an increase of 27 percent over the figure submitted in the 2009 bid.

The operating budget is only for organizing the games themselves, and has been delayed for months with Brazil’s three levels of government debating over who pays what.

A separate and much larger capital budget – a mix of private and public funds – will be unveiled next week and could top $11 billion. This is for building roads, subway lines and other improvements triggered by the games.